LOCATION BLYTON ILEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Oxyaquic Udifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Blyton silt loam on a nearly level area in a cultivated field at an elevation of 515 feet (157 meters) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches (0 to 25 cm); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) thick]
C1--10 to 23 inches (25 to 58 cm); 55 percent brown (10YR 4/3) and 35 percent brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam; massive with thin bedding planes; very friable; many very fine roots; few distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coats lining root channels and pores; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation with diffuse boundaries throughout; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
C2--23 to 26 inches (58 to 66 cm); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; massive with thin bedding planes; very friable; common very fine roots; few distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coats lining root channels and pores; common fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation with diffuse boundaries throughout; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions along pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
C3--26 to 80 inches (66 to 203 cm); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; massive with thin bedding planes; very friable; common fine faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation with diffuse boundaries throughout; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions along pores; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Fulton County, Illinois; about 3 miles north of Lewistown; 1520 feet east and 1400 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 3, T. 5 N., R. 3 E.; USGS Lewistown topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 26 minutes 57 seconds N. and long. 90 degrees 09 minutes 24 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The particle-size control section averages from 10 to 18 percent clay, 1 to 14 percent fine and coarser sand, and 1 to 15 percent very fine sand. Rock fragments are less than 1 percent throughout.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam. Reaction is moderately acid to neutral, depending on liming history.
The C horizon, to a depth of at least 40 inches (120 cm), has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Iron depletions are in the lower part. Texture is silt loam. Reaction is moderately acid to slightly alkaline.
The C or Cg horizon, below a depth of 40 inches (102 cm), has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is silt loam or loam and may have thin strata of fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Clay content ranges from 10 to 26 percent and sand content ranges from 5 to 45 percent. Reaction is moderately acid to slightly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Motark series. Motark soils average less than 18 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. They also have a lower range in mean annual precipitation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Blyton soils are on nearly level flood plains. They formed in stream alluvium mainly from loess-covered hills and till plains. Mean annual temperature ranges from about 50 to 57 degrees F. (10 to 14 degrees C.) and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 35 to 46 inches (889 to 1168 mm). Frost free days range from 150 to 210 days. Elevation ranges from 425 to 540 feet (130 to 165 meters) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Birds, Haymond, and Wakeland soils. The poorly drained Birds soils and somewhat poorly drained Wakeland soils are in lower lying positions on the flood-plain. The well drained Haymond soils are typically in higher positions on the flood plain.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Depth to an apparent seasonally high water table is at a depth of 2 to 3.5 feet (61 to 107 cm) in normal years. Flooding frequency is occasional or frequent and duration is brief or long. The potential for surface runoff is low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second). Permeability is moderate (0.6 to 2 inches per hour).
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used to grow corn and soybeans. Some areas are timbered or are used for pasture. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly in west central Illinois. The series is of small extent in MLRA 115C.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fulton County, Illinois, 1997.
REMARKS: These soils were mapped as part of the Wilbur series.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon: the zone from the surface to a depth of 10 inches (25 cm), (Ap horizon).